Public funding for roadway improvements and infrastructure repairs and maintenance have fallen well below levels needed to keep up with the steadily deteriorating conditions of the public roadways in the United States. Roadway deterioration of structural components of overpass structures are most commonly treated with temporary or convenient repairs that shore-up the structural integrity of the overpass, but leaves much to be desired as to cosmetic appearance. Damage to roadway overpasses occurs both structurally and cosmetically where peeling paint and visible rusting create eyesores which are both aesthetically undesirable, and gives the public tax-payer negative feed-back as to the use of hard-earned tax dollars.
Similarly, many railroad bridges are in a state of disrepair and cosmetic deterioration, some crossing over roadways, or spanning barriers such that these cosmetic imperfections are viewable by observers in their vicinity.
This is most apparent to anyone who has driven on roadways and has seen the deterioration and dirt under roadway overpass structures. While cosmetic deterioration such as dirt, bird droppings, peeling and discolored paint, graffiti, and surface rust do not significantly effect the structural integrity of overpasses, such cosmetic blemishes cause psychological harm and assault aesthetic sensibilities. The basic construction of bridges and roads are described briefly in, for example, Lapinski, Michael A., Road and Bridge Construction Handbook, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, N.Y., 1978).
A simple and cost-effective method of cosmetically disguising peeling paint, surface rust spots, or structural repairs would be useful and help reduce the overall cost of cosmetic maintenance of roadway overpass structures.
For several years, plastic based siding has been commercially available for cladding homes. (See for example Alth, Max, Do-it-yourself Roofing and Siding, Hawthorne Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1977, Chps. 8 & 99; and Dietz, Albert G. H., Dwelling House Construction, 4th ed., The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1974, pp. 234-8). Typically plastic or vinyl siding is made of pvc, pva or other suitable polymer or copolymer, which can be obtained from virgin synthetic material or recycled plastics. Suitable plastics include, but are not limited to, thermoplastic resins such as ABS, acetals, acrylics, acrylonitrile-based resins, cellulosics, fluorocarbons, phenylene oxide based resins, polyallomers, polyamides, polyaryl ether, polyaryl sulfone, polybutylene, polycarbonates, polyester, polyethylene, polyimides, polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylenes, polystyrene, polysulfone, and vinyls, or thermosetting resins such as alkyds, allylics, epoxies, melamines, phenolics, polyesters, silicones, and ureas.
Plastics suitable for use in the present invention, and methods of manufacture and manipulation of such are known in the art, and can be found described in, for example, Plastics Engineering Handbook of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., (4th ed., ed. Joel Frados, VanNostrand Reinhold Co., Chicago, 1976). Plastics have long become a large component of the home construction industry (see for example Dietz, Albert G. H., Dwelling House Construction, 4th ed., The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1974, Chapter 16), and are well suited for use in public works projects. Plastics can be enhanced with chemical additives to inhibit the adherence of paints, inks and the like to the surface of these plastics. This can serve as a useful deterrent to graffiti and other forms of vandalism or defacing. In addition to being a suitable material, the incorporation of recycled plastics from consumer packaging into the siding of the invention will provide added benefits to the environment as a whole.
The use of plastic cladding, adapted for attachment to roadway or railway overpass support structures, in a system of this invention is a useful and cost-effective means of cosmetically enhancing the appearance of public roadways.